Judge lowers Josh Brent’s bail, requires alcohol monitoring

Posted by Mike Florio on December 18, 2012, 10:33 PM EST

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Cowboys nose tackle Josh Brent initially was released after being charged with intoxication manslaughter on $500,000 bail. According to the Associated Press, a judge has slashed the amount by 80 percent.

Brent’s bail is now $100,000. A judge also prohibited Brent from drinking alcohol and from driving without a valid license. His driver’s license had been suspended prior to the accident that claimed the life of teammate Jerry Brown.

A prosecutor agreed with Brent’s lawyer that the bond initially was set too high.

”We want to treat everyone the same,” Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins said. ”Just because he’s a Cowboy doesn’t mean his bond should be $500,000.”

”It was off the charts, it was inappropriate,” said Brent’s lawyer, George Milner. ”And Mr. Brent should be treated like any other citizen of Dallas County.”

Brent also will be required to wear a monitor that will detect whether he has consumed alcohol. Prosecutors hope to present the case to a grand jury before the end of the year. Given that Brent’s blood-alcohol level reportedly was 0.18 percent (more than twice the legal limit), an indictment is likely.

if he wants him to be treated like every other citizen then he should still be in jail! I guarantee if it was Joe six pack driving drunk with no license who killed somebody in a wreck they would not be out on the streets.

His drivers license was suspended, he had a prior DWI and now the judge gives him a stern warning….wow, I bet that scared the bejesus out of him and will surely keep him from further booze. If anything, the stress the dude is feeling about now will cause him to drink all the more. He will cause his monitor to blow a fuse and the judge will slap his hands and put him right back on the same ridiciulous restrictions. The dude should be out of jail but sentenced to a rehab facility until his trial……

sentenced before trial? This is still America. As for receiving bond, even Joe Sixpack can get bond, usually the monday after the incident. What matters is whether or not you have people outside that care about you, be it Jerry Jones or Jerry Sixpack.

The guy is in deep and serious trouble.
I know a guy here (California), who wrecked a boat while drunk and killed a friend.
No priors. He went inside for 12 minimum, I think.
We’ll see how this plays out.

if he wants him to be treated like every other citizen then he should still be in jail! I guarantee if it was Joe six pack driving drunk with no license who killed somebody in a wreck they would not be out on the streets.
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Are you a lawyer or judge in that jurisdiction? No? Well than how about we let the folks who get paid to do this regularly handle this. Unless of course you can provide statistics showing his bail is outside the norm.

The monitor has to be downloaded. Can he drink – sure and they will know the next time he goes in for the download and his bond would be revoked. Brent should lay low and stay out of the news-get some counseling.

His lawyer wanted the bail to be the same as anyone else in Dallas…NOT Josh Brent! The Prosecuter agreed with the lawyer! Dang…yall want to convict a guy before his trial. Jerry Brown was drinking too and made the choice to get in the vehicle driven by someone intoxicated. Not one person can honestly say they haven’t been there/done that! I’m glad the Judge is monitoring his drinking..he could be very depressed over his friend dying in the wreck. Don’t need a depressant when he’s (or anyone else) is depressed already. It leads to worse things and possibly death (suicide) Both were guilty and should have called the NFL help line to have someone sober drive them home..but they didn’t so now Brent has to live with what happened and Brown is no longer with us. Just a sad situation…

he is being treated the same metal head the point the judge is making because he can afford a 500k bail doesnt mean make his bail higher than the average person because of his profession yea Most people would still be in jail at 500k let alone 100k he just happens to not be one of those people!!!

dcowboy4life says:
Dec 18, 2012 11:51 PM
His lawyer wanted the bail to be the same as anyone else in Dallas…NOT Josh Brent! The Prosecuter agreed with the lawyer! Dang…yall want to convict a guy before his trial. Jerry Brown was drinking too and made the choice to get in the vehicle driven by someone intoxicated. Not one person can honestly say they haven’t been there/done that! I’m glad the Judge is monitoring his drinking..he could be very depressed over his friend dying in the wreck. Don’t need a depressant when he’s (or anyone else) is depressed already. It leads to worse things and possibly death (suicide) Both were guilty and should have called the NFL help line to have someone sober drive them home..but they didn’t so now Brent has to live with what happened and Brown is no longer with us. Just a sad situation…

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um he didn’t appear to be too depressed when I saw him laughing it up with his buddies on the sideline Sunday………….dude should be ASHAMED of himself……..j/s

Dcowboy4life had one of the smartest post about this situation. Why shouldn’t Brent have been on the sideline? Has he been convicted? Dante stallworth killed a man who didn’t choose to drive in the same car. He was just crossing a street but because the man wasn’t in a cross walk drunken stallworth gets off. Jerry brown got in the car with someone who was drunk so he too made a choice that he knew could lead to trouble. Also I would love to shake te hand of the person who has never gotten into a car after drinking being too tired to drive ” yeah that’s just as bad” or being under the influence of anything ever young or old. I’m fairly certain I won’t be shaking too many hands

I can’t believe how many people have no idea how our justice system works.

-No, chances are Joe Six Pack would not still be sitting in jail. If their bail was $100k, they would need to post 10%, or 10k. Assuming JSP had a job and/or was not a flight risk, a bail bondsman would front the money.

– He hasn’t been found guilty or sentenced yet. I’m not sure what these people who say he got a “slap on the wrist” are talking about. He’s months away from being sentenced, assuming he’s convicted.

-The Dante Stallworth reference is confusing. He was also out on bail immediately after being charged.

Virtually no one, unless they have a long rap sheet, spends the time between when they are charged and the date of their trial in jail. Anyone who thinks he should be in jail NOW, before he’s been convicted of anything, is simply clueless.

@ thejuddstir A rehab facility is only useful if he’s an alcoholic. Otherwise it’s wasted money.
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Two DWI’s in a matter of a couple years..I think it qualifies as having an alcohol problem. Besides, if Brent wanted to build some cred with the Judge and express sincere remorse, he might think about checking himself into a rehab facility instead of making sure he’s on the sidelines of a nationally televised football game. Sorry bluebongzilla, I am an extreme “righty” and don’t have a whole lot of time for the “touchy feel-ie”type people who want to be politically correct and take an extreme liberal view of situations, if it walks like a duck and quack likes a duck…..that’s enough for me. Two DWI’s says the dude has a drinking problem.

drgreenstreak says:
Dec 19, 2012 12:24 AM
Okay with ya’ll hillbillies if Brent gets a chance to plead and then go to trial or be sentenced first?

Don’t know where ya’ll are writing from but that’s how we do it in the USA.
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Being patronizing is not going to win too many people to your side whether it’s right or wrong.
I’ll leave it at that.

The real problem is that the laws of this country are not tough enough on drunk drivers. After offense # 2 ( I’d give people one DUI where they didn’t hurt another person in the process to learn from their bad decision to drive drunk)I’d remove their cars from them. People who drive drunk multiple times mostly don’t care about the law or losing their license. They’ll just continue to drive.

Wow I am tired of the high and mighty here passing judgment on people. Look this guy is going to jail for sure. 2 DWIs and some form of vehicular manslaughter will get him most likely 1-3 years. That’s just the norm and the law whether you think its fair, or justice or not.
Secondly, if anyone here drinks alcohol and owns a car then you have driven drunk also! Hands down no doubt about it. And to say you never did you are lying !! In most states now .05 BAC will get you at least an impaired offense while .08 BAC will get a DWI or intoxicated offense. Sooo if you had 2 beers after work or wine with your dinner unless you sat at the bar for at least an hour more likely 2 since your body takes 1 hour per drink to process and filter out the alcohol you drove impaired at least, if not under the influence. Its just the science of alcohol in your body and with the states lowering the keeping the limits so low its impossible to not be in violation of the law when you drink then drive a vehicle! So don’t go around passing judgment on what people have done before they are convicted when you are also guilty of the same crime. EVERYONE that drinks alcohol has at one time driven impaired at least once. The only difference between you and this guy is you never got caught !!

eatitfanboy says:
Dec 19, 2012 9:21 AM
I can’t believe how many people have no idea how our justice system works.

-No, chances are Joe Six Pack would not still be sitting in jail. If their bail was $100k, they would need to post 10%, or 10k. Assuming JSP had a job and/or was not a flight risk, a bail bondsman would front the money.

– He hasn’t been found guilty or sentenced yet. I’m not sure what these people who say he got a “slap on the wrist” are talking about. He’s months away from being sentenced, assuming he’s convicted.

-The Dante Stallworth reference is confusing. He was also out on bail immediately after being charged.

Virtually no one, unless they have a long rap sheet, spends the time between when they are charged and the date of their trial in jail. Anyone who thinks he should be in jail NOW, before he’s been convicted of anything, is simply clueless.

Totally agree with ya. They have him already tried and convicted before the guy even went to trial before a jury of his own peers! Now they’re trying to sentence him. Totally clueless how the law works!